March: Hope for Three nonprofit provides support, aid to families with children with autism
Hope for Three, an autism advocacy organization in Sugar Land, has been serving families with autistic children since 2011. Nine years later, the organization has provided a total of more than $10 million of financial aid and directly assisted 13,000 people last year, founder and CEO Darla Farmer said.
Farmer said the nonprofit was inspired after she watched her friend, Hope Collins Montgomery, seek help for her triplet daughters—Londyn, Lakin and Lauren—who are all diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
“Watching them go through all the trials and tribulations of trying to get the girls services ... it was rough on them,” Farmer said.
April: Bright Offerings connects candidates to companies and colleges for apprenticeships
Bright Offerings, a Sugar Land-based nonprofit, has worked to economically empower 75 job candidates through its apprenticeship program in the past two years.
“There seems to be, in the general public’s mind, a [misconception] about what apprenticeships are,” Bright Offerings co-founder and chair Salim Nathani said. “The moment I say apprenticeship, they think about skilled labor. That’s not what it is. I don’t know when we separated education from actual work. Apprenticeship, to me, is where you bring those two together.”
Using its slogan “Learn and Earn from Day 1” as a guide, the nonprofit partners with local colleges and employers to support job candidates through the application, training and certification requirements for employment, Salim said.
May: Second Mile Mission Center in Missouri City sees sharp increase in demand for food pantry services
Since the coronavirus outbreak started, Director of Advancement Sheena Abraham said the faith-based nonprofit organization and food pantry in Missouri City has seen an increased demand for food.
“Even before the coronavirus crisis, people would come to us on a daily basis because they're working and their wages weren't enough to cover their needs, or they're not working; they're looking for a job,” Abraham said. “We know that's amplified now because of all of the industries that have slowed down, and we're seeing it affect all ranges of income.”
